The San Francisco 49ers and head coach Kyle Shanahan may be penning their magnum opus.
The 49ers, owners of the highest cap allocation in NFL history at $314.2 million, are currently in a six-way tie for second place in the NFC at 5–2 despite entering Sunday’s games ranked second-to-last in the league in cap spending on their active roster.
The NFL salary gap has grown enormously in recent years, spiking more than $20 million for two straight offseasons. NFL teams can roll over unused cap space into the next year, and no one takes advantage of that more than the Niners, who ended up with a record $341.4 million adjusted salary cap when the league year began in March.
A busy month saw the team promptly lose, through trade, release, or free agency, expensive veterans Deebo Samuel, Arik Armstead, Charvarius Ward, Leonard Floyd, Javon Hargrave, and Kyle Juszczyk, all of whom still linger in the Bay to the tune of just over $80 million of the 49ers’ league-record $101.1 million dead cap spending.
Now, after a tumultuous first seven weeks that saw the 49ers lose defensive stars Nick Bosa and Fred Warner to season-ending injuries, the franchise currently ranks second in the league in spending on injured players at $56.1 million. That figure, combined with the dead money, leaves the team spending just $153.1 million on their active roster, less than $300,000 ahead of the moribund New Orleans Saints for last in the league and less than half of the 49ers’ record-setting cap number.
It could always be worse, too.
Three of the team’s four highest active cap hits are Trent Williams, a 37-year-old offensive lineman; George Kittle, activated from injured reserve just a week ago; and Brock Purdy, their recently-extended franchise quarterback whose turf toe has kept him off the field for all but one game since Week 1.
Thanks to a 4–1 record in one-score games and some key contributions from backup quarterback Mac Jones, the team remains firmly in the playoff hunt. And the dead cap situation should clear up: the 49ers currently rank just 20th in projected cap spending for 2026.
The injuries may be another story. According to Aaron Schatz, creator of Football Outsiders, Shanahan’s tenure has seen the 49ers rank in the bottom third of the league in adjusted games lost to injuries in all but one season since 2017, including dead last in 2024.
